Eva Mendes hasn’t always been fond of sharing details about her personal life with the world.
However, during a recent interview with Violet Grey, she opened up and revealed how she truly feels about being a first-time mother.
For those who missed it, the We Own the Night star welcomed a little girl with famed actor Ryan Gosling back in September. She also revealed why they chose the enchanting name Esmeralda Amada.
“We both love the Esmeralda character from the Victor Hugo novel The Hunchback of Notre Dame and just think it’s a beautiful name,” Mendes said.
“Her middle is Amada, which was my grandmother’s name. It means ‘beloved’ in Spanish.”
Mendes shared another interesting detail about her new life as a mother. Surprisingly, unlike a lot of celebrities, she opted not to hire a nanny.
Although she admitted there are times when she’s “completely exhausted,” she’s obviously up for the challenge and the “wild nights.”
“For me that part of being a mother at this early stage is the struggle of not being able to sleep and not knowing what I’m doing and really going through it with her and battling out those nights,” she said. “I thought my wild nights were over, but these are some of the wildest nights I’ve ever had.”
But, luckily, she does have assistance from family. The 40-year-old actress revealed her daughter’s grandmothers and “aunties” are a tremendous help. “Just knowing that I’m not alone out there and that other moms have gone through the same thing can at least get me through the night,” Mendes said.
While motherhood can be a bit difficult when you’re learning the ropes, the model-actress also touched on another topic she and Gosling are much more concerned about – the difficulty they’ll face protecting their daughter’s privacy.
“I think it’s unfair, but that’s our reality. So Ryan and I decided early on to give her as much privacy as we could,” Mendes said.
“I know that it seems all very innocuous when you’re flipping through a tabloid at the doctor’s office or see a photo of a pregnant lady online, but I find the media’s ‘bump watch’ obsession to be both intrusive and stressful. So I made a decision to eject myself from it completely. I was like, ‘Annnnd I’m out.'”